Well it’s been quite a while since I’ve been on here, but I’ve been busy making apple jelly! Because finally, FINALLY, the windows are open as Autumn slowly moves into Florida.

So I taught my first class at Crowley Folk School this past weekend and I wanted the students to have directions for a surefire apple jelly with added pectin. Which, really, how hard can that be? Apples are kind of the pectin superstar of the fruit world anyway and adding commercial pectin should have made it all the more foolproof. Except it didn’t really work out the way I intended.  I went through three different recipes before making up my own – and let me tell you, that had to be nearly a bushel of fruit by the end of my experimenting! My chickens are spoiled on apple pulp scraps now….

Ingredients:

3 1/2 pounds of apples (I used a mix of Fuji and Red Delicious for mine) for 5 cups of juice

7 1/2 cups of sugar

3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1 pouch of liquid pectin

Yield ~ 9 half pints

1) Sterilize canning jars and prepare two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer’s directions.

2) Remove stem and blossom end, coarsely chop apples, including peel, seeds, and core. Add 3 cups of water and bring to boil over high heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Crush apples and return to covered simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

3) Put prepared fruit in a damp jelly bag and allow juice to drip, often overnight. You want to collect a total of 5 cups of juice. You do not want to squeeze the jelly bag or your jelly will be cloudy. You can, however, add up to a 1/2 cup of water to hit the 5 cup mark if you need to. The juice is gorgeous thanks to the red in the peels!

4) Put apple juice, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot and quickly bring to a boil.

5) Add pectin, return to full boil, and boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim foam.

6) Fill hot jelly immediately into hot, sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner for 5 minutes.

Now I had to take these outside for pictures again because I really wanted you to see how lovely it looks in the jar.

I also wanted the students to see and taste the difference between jelly made from juiced apples and from bottled apple juice. So I made a batch of apple juice jelly too.

Apple juice jelly is EASY!

Sterilize 3 half pint jars and follow directions 4 – 6 above using:

2 cups of bottled apple juice

3 1/2 cups of sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1 pouch of liquid pectin

Not bad in a pinch, but I do like the pink ones best!

Oh! And the jam and jelly class went great! I’ve got another one out there on November 10th  – it’s an absolutely gorgeous spot, so come join me!